As a deodorant: Fresh cleavers make a really effective natural deodorant. The first time I made this I was astonished at how well it works. I’ve been using natural deodorants since 1990 and this one works so much better than a lot of the ones that I’ve bought from the shops over the years. It’s so simple to do. Take a large handful of the ariel parts (i.e. leaves and stalks). Put them in a pan. Pour on 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, turn down, then gently simmer for 15 mins. Strain. When cool apply to armpits. If you have some left then pour it into a bottle and store it in the fridge. It will be fine to use for external use for 3-4 days. Sometimes I add a few drops of essential oil to this too e.g. rosemary but it works very well without this. Alternatively, try using your left-over cleavers tea as a deodorant. If you’ve made a pot of cleavers tea and haven’t managed to drink it within 24 hours, then try applying that as a deodorant. This won’t keep for as long though because it hasn’t been boiled so pour away any unused infusion if it is more than 48 hours old. There’s a video demonstrating how to make this extract in my online course. So far I haven’t come up with a way of preserving this so that it can be stored for use all year round…..I’ll let you know if I manage this. It’s definitely a skincare ingredient well worth researching
To reduce freckling: It seems to me that in centuries gone by, people were always trying to get rid of their freckles! Herbal books are full of recommendations for plants to try to reduce freckling. Cleavers is one such herb. It was recommended that the tea be used daily to wash the skin. I haven’t tried this because I like freckles and don’t really understand why people would want to get rid of them! If you try it yourself then do please report back to me on the results.
As a treatment to reduce fine lines and wrinkles: one of the students doing my online course swears by this use of cleavers! She makes a juice from them by whizzing up the little leaves with a drop of water, squeezing out the juice through muslin and then applying it to her face. She says the juice is deep green but soaks in very well. She read about this technique in the classic herbal book ‘Health Through God’s Pharmacy’ by Maria Treben, a well-known Austrian herbalist. Thanks so much to Sheila in County Clare, Ireland for bringing this little-known use of cleavers to my attention. It’s a great example of how much there is to learn, experiment with and try out. It’s such a joy to share our favourite techniques and recipes with each other. I learn loads from my students: it’s one of the reasons that I love to teach!
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